1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to an apparatus for the illumination of reading material and, more particularly, to a battery-operated illumination apparatus that illuminates a reading surface when a selected degree of tilt is reached.
2. General Background
Many devices exist that can be used to illuminate reading material. Some of these devices consist of book holders or covers that illuminate the reading material placed therein. Typical examples of these types of devices include U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,344 issued to Marcellino, U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,847 issued to Nahmias, U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,312 issued to Weinstein, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,145 issued to Wise. In all of these devices, a book is placed within the cover or holder and is illuminated by turning an attached lamp either on or off. Some of these lamps are battery operated while others rely upon alternating current for their energy source. Unfortunately, these devices are either not easily portable or they are rather bulky in nature.
A variation of the above is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,202,498 issued to Findley, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,742 issued to Kersey. In these cases, a writing pad is permanently mounted to a closable cover that can also illuminate the pad if desired. This cover further incorporates a storage area for the storage of notes or even a transistor radio.
Other simpler illumination devices do not involve a cover or the like, but instead consist of a portable lamp that can be easily moved from book to book as needed. Such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,744 issued to Langdon, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,042 issued to Zeller. In each of these cases, a battery-operated lamp assembly is mounted to an upper part of the book so as to shine down on the reading material at an angle preferred by the reader. Such devices may be clipped to a number of pages of the book or may be attached to the book cover for greater support. Unfortunately, such lamps provide uneven illumination from top to bottom and side to side since all the light is emitted from a single upper source that is generally located at a mid-page position.
Still another device that assists in the reading of material is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,169,786 issued to Baum. In accordance with this invention, a magnifying glass is mounted on a stand that can be moved across the reading material or vice versus. It is particularly adapted for use in reading road maps and the like by drivers and/or tourists. A lamp mounted in the stand provides illumination if such is desired.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide a means of illuminating reading material such that the illumination is provided from a plurality of sources so as to insure more complete and even illumination.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide such a device that is battery operated so that it is easily portable.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an electric circuit connected to all of the illumination sources so that they all operate in unison.
A further object of this invention is to provide automatic operating means that automatically activate the illumination sources without the need for manual switches or the like.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide operating means that automatically activate the illumination sources upon the tilting of the reading material to a certain pre-set angle. Such operating means will also de-activate such illumination sources once the reading material is lowered below this pre-set angle.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a reflective backing that reflects the light back towards the reading material.
A further object of this invention is to provide a covering or housing for such reading material that may be closed as needed.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide cut-off means that interrupt the circuit to the illumination sources when the covering or housing is closed, no matter the angle or degree of tilt of the reading material.
It is still another object of this invention to be adapted for use with menus and the like so that they will be easier to read in dark or underlit areas of a restaurant.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a reading bar that slides along the menu or other reading material to highlight or magnify such material.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become obvious upon further investigation.